William Blair Issues Positive Estimate for UniFirst Earnings

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) – Stock analysts at William Blair upped their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of UniFirst in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, January 8th. William Blair analyst T. Mulrooney now forecasts that the textile maker will post earnings per share of $7.63 for the year, up from their prior estimate of $7.57. The consensus estimate for UniFirst’s current full-year earnings is $7.68 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for UniFirst’s Q2 2026 earnings at $1.59 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.49 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $8.89 EPS.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $604.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $606.60 million. UniFirst had a net margin of 5.99% and a return on equity of 7.47%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.26 earnings per share.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on UNF. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group boosted their price target on UniFirst from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $197.50.

UniFirst Stock Down 0.6 %

UniFirst stock opened at $225.07 on Monday. UniFirst has a 12 month low of $149.58 and a 12 month high of $243.70. The stock has a market cap of $4.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.97 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $192.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $187.84.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UniFirst

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UNF. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in UniFirst by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 367 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 3.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,936 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $385,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in UniFirst by 60.5% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in UniFirst by 1.9% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,231 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $726,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in UniFirst by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 21,491 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $3,686,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at UniFirst

In other news, CEO Steven S. Sintros sold 3,207 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.04, for a total value of $619,079.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,357,105.84. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.97, for a total value of $1,814,215.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 17,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,320,968.30. The trade was a 35.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,294 shares of company stock valued at $2,546,632. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is 17.90%.

UniFirst Company Profile

UniFirst Corporation provides workplace uniforms and protective work wear clothing in the United States, Europe, and Canada. The company operates through U.S. and Canadian Rental and Cleaning, Manufacturing, Specialty Garments Rental and Cleaning, and First Aid segments. It designs, manufactures, personalizes, rents, cleans, delivers, and sells a range of uniforms and protective clothing, including shirts, pants, jackets, coveralls, lab coats, smocks, and aprons; and specialized protective wear, such as flame resistant and high visibility garments.